1. You may be eligible for benefits even if you quit or were fired for cause.

Some people mistakenly believe that unemployment is available only to employees who are laid off. However, you don't have to lose your job in a layoff to qualify for benefits. The key question is whether you are out of work without fault on your part. So, if you were forced to quit your job in lieu of being fired, or you were fired because you don't have the necessary skills for your job, you could still be eligible for benefits.

What Are Unemployment Benefits?

Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state to people who are temporarily out of work through no fault of their own. They are intended to partially replace your lost wages while you look for a new job.

These benefits are provided through an insurance program run jointly by the federal government and Georgia. Taxes paid by employers in Georgia fund the program and employers may not deduct these taxes from employee wages. If an employer asks you to agree to have the unemployment insurance tax deducted from your wages, you can refuse. Such an agreement is not enforceable.

What Is the Base Period?

The base period is the length of time used both to determine your eligibility for unemployment benefits and to calculate the amount you will receive.

In Georgia, the base period is the first four of the five complete calendar quarters immediately before you filed for benefits. For example, if you file for benefits on July 10, 2015, your base period will be from April 1, 2014 through March 31, 2015. It would not include the most recent complete calendar quarter before you filed (April 1, 2015 through June 30, 2015) or the first ten days of July 2015.

If you did not earn enough to qualify for benefits during the regular base period, you may be able to use an alternate base period that counts more recent earnings. In Georgia, the alternate base period is the last four complete calendar quarters before you file your claim.

How Are Benefits Calculated?

Each state has its own formula for determining your weekly benefit amount: how much money you will receive each week as your unemployment benefit. Typically, your weekly benefit amount is some percentage of your earnings during the entire base period or the quarter of the base period in which you were paid the most.

Your weekly benefit in Georgia will usually be the amount you earned in the two highest paid quarters of the base period divided by 42.

How Long Do Benefits Last?

In Georgia, you can receive unemployment benefits for a maximum of 20 weeks.

In times of high unemployment, the extended benefits program pays for 13 to 20 additional weeks of benefits. However, the unemployment rate is not currently high enough in any state for this program to kick in.

About this Website

Here at Legal Consumer, we want to help people find answers to everyday legal questions about important topics like bankruptcy, Obamacare, inheritance, and more.

Now, we’ve turned our attention to employment law. Because, while almost everyone has (or has had) a job, it can be surprisingly tough to get good, high-quality local information about workplace rights.

We'll be adding new topics over time, but we’ve started with unemployment benefits. If you’ve recently lost your job, unemployment benefits can be a real lifesaver. They replace some of your income, temporarily, while you look for a new job. But not everyone qualifies for benefits, and the amount and duration of benefits can vary a lot from state to state.

On this website, when you choose your state or enter your zip code, you will quickly learn:

who is eligible for unemployment benefits

how to apply for unemployment in your state

how much you can expect to receive each week

what to do if your claim for benefits is denied

and more.

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to get the information, forms, and resources you need to get the unemployment benefits you’re entitled to and move on with your job search.

Can I Collect Unemployment Benefits If I Was Wrongfully Terminated?

In order to collect unemployment, you must meet two basic requirements. First, you must have earned at least a minimum amount, set by state law, in the time before you lost your job. Second, you must be out of work through no fault of your own. For more information about these requirements, see Who is Eligible for Unemployment Benefits in Georgia?

If you lose your job in a layoff, reduction-in-force (RIF), or downsizing, you will be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. But, these are not the only ways that employees lose their jobs. Your eligibility for benefits depends upon the reason you become unemployed.

If You Were Fired for Misconduct

Generally-speaking, if you are terminated, you can collect unemployment insurance benefits in Georgia. But, there is an exception to that general rule in Georgia:

You will be disqualified from receiving benefits in Georgia if you were discharged for:

failing to obey rules, orders, or instructions, or failing to fulfill the duties of your job

intentional conduct that resulted in the physical injury or assault of another

theft

property loss or damage, or

violating the employer's drug-free workplace policy.

Each state defines misconduct. Check Georgia's definition of misconduct to see if the reason given for your termination may disqualify you from receiving unemployment insurance benefits. If you were fired for a reason that does not fall within that definition, you may be eligible to collect unemployment insurance benefits in Georgia.

You may be disqualified either for a set number of weeks or until you get another job and earn a minimum amount, depending on state law. In some states, the length of the disqualification period depends on why you were fired. Contact the Georgia Department of Labor for more information.

If You Were Wrongfully Terminated

Sometimes employers fire employees for reasons that are illegal, such as an employee’s refusal to submit to sexual harassment. If you were fired for reasons other than misconduct, you may have been wrongfully terminated.

The definition of “wrongful termination” varies from state to state. If your employer fired you for no reason or for a reason that violates the law in Georgia, you may be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits in Georgia. If your employer fired you for a reason that you believe violates Georgia law, or if you believe your employer fired you for a reason other than the reason it has given, you may want to speak to an employment lawyer. See Do I Need a Lawyer to Get Unemployment Benefits in Georgia? for information on finding a lawyer.

If you believe you were fired because you complained about your employer's violation of wage and hour laws (like the laws entitling employees to overtime, the minimum wage, tips, breaks, and so on), visit our site on minimum wage and overtime law, which includes information on your rights to fair pay and how to find a lawyer if you think your employer owes you wages.

In Georgia, the minimum benefit is $44 per week, and the maximum benefit is $330 per week. To make sure these amounts are still current when you apply for benefits, contact the Georgia Department of Labor.

Each state determines how much it will pay in unemployment benefits. Generally, the weekly benefit amount is some fraction or percentage of your earnings in the base period or your highest paid quarter of the base period.

Your weekly benefit in Georgia will usually be the amount you earned in the two highest paid quarters of the base period divided by 42.

In Georgia, you can earn up to $330 per week in unemployment benefits.

Every state has its own rules for calculating unemployment benefits. Typically, the amount you receive each week is based on your earnings when you were employed. After all, unemployment benefits are intended to replace some of the income you lost along with your job, and tide you over until you find new work.

Approval of your initial claim for unemployment benefits is just the beginning of the unemployment compensation process for you. You need to file weekly claims (in most states; some states require bi-weekly filings) with Georgia Department of Labor to keep receiving benefit payments. The Georgia Department of Labor describes the weekly claim-filing requirements in its Unemployment Insurance: Claimant Handbook. The Georgia agency website also has instructions on how to file for weekly benefits.

In Georgia, you can receive unemployment benefits for a maximum of 20 weeks.

Each state sets its own rules for how long unemployment benefits last. Until quite recently, virtually all states offered a maximum of 26 weeks of benefits. In the last five or six years, however, some states have changed their rules on duration of benefits (in most cases, to offer benefits for a shorter period of time).

There are two programs that provide additional weeks of benefits in times of high unemployment: extended benefits (EB) and emergency unemployment compensation (EUC).

You can contact the Georgia Department of Labor online or by phone. In some states, you can even contact the unemployment agency by snail mail. You can find the contact information for the Georgia Department of Labor in Unemployment Insurance: Claimant Handbook. The handbook lists the addresses and phone numbers to reach the Georgia Department of Labor if you have questions or you want to follow up on your claim for unemployment benefits.

After your application for unemployment insurance benefits is approved by the Georgia Department of Labor, you can’t just sit back and collect benefits—you have to do certain things to stay eligible. After your initial claim for unemployment benefits is approved in Georgia. You have to:

be unemployed or underemployed (generally, earning close to what you receive in weekly benefits)

be able and available to work

be actively looking for work, and

file to continue to receive benefits.

Unemployed Or Underemployed

You have to be unemployed or earning significantly less than you used to (also called being “underemployed”) to continue to receive unemployment benefits. You have to report any earnings from work to the Georgia Department of Labor. In some states, you will still be entitled unemployment benefits if you earn less than your weekly benefit amount; about half the states will allow you to continue receiving benefits even if you earn a bit more than your weekly benefit amount. You will be allowed to set aside some of what you earn (the amount varies from state to state). The rest will be subtracted from your usual weekly benefit amount, and you will receive the difference. For more information about receiving partial unemployment benefits, see How Much Will I Collect in Unemployment Benefits in Georgia?

There are several ways to find a good lawyer to help with your unemployment claim in Georgia. The best way to find a lawyer is always through a referral from someone you know. Ask family members, friends, and other professionals you work with whether they can recommend a good employment lawyer.

Lawyers specialize, so your friend’s divorce lawyer won’t be the right person to handle your unemployment appeal. However, lawyers also know other lawyers, so don’t hesitate to ask a well-recommended lawyer in a different field for an employment lawyer referral.

If you can’t find a lawyer through personal referrals, here are a couple of other options:

If Georgia Department of Labor denies you unemployment insurance benefits, you can appeal. After you file your initial claim for unemployment benefits, the Georgia Department of Labor will send you a written determination of your eligibility for benefits and, if it finds you eligible, how much you will receive in benefits. But, if the Georgia Department of Labor finds that you are not eligible for benefits or grants you benefits in a lower amount than you believe you are entitled to, you can appeal that decision. And, if the Georgia Department of Labor finds you eligible to receive benefits, your ex-employer can appeal that decision.

Here at Legal Consumer, we want to help people find answers to everyday legal questions about important topics like bankruptcy, Obamacare, inheritance, and more.

Now, we’ve turned our attention to employment law. Because, while almost everyone has (or has had) a job, it can be surprisingly tough to get good, high-quality local information about workplace rights.

We'll be adding new topics over time, but we’ve started with unemployment benefits. If you’ve recently lost your job, unemployment benefits can be a real lifesaver. They replace some of your income, temporarily, while you look for a new job. But not everyone qualifies for benefits, and the amount and duration of benefits can vary a lot from state to state.

Having your own lawyer to represent you in the unemployment insurance benefits process in Georgia will level the playing field for you—because your ex-employer will be represented. Your ex-employer is almost certainly going to have a lawyer or two offering guidance through the Georgia unemployment process. This legal advice can give your ex-employer an edge over you in the process, especially if they intend to challenge your claim for benefits. Your own lawyer can:

Help you figure out if you are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits in Georgia

Tell you if your employer’s stated reason for terminating you is valid and will bar benefits